Encinitas won't conduct own study on I-5 widening

But city vows strong input in planning process

Encinitas won’t produce its own environmental report on the state’s plans to widen Interstate 5 in North County, but the city will be an active participant in the planning process, the City Council unanimously agreed Wednesday.

Council members said they were uneasy with the idea of letting the state Department of Transportation and its freeway project partner -- the regional San Diego Association of Governments agency -- produce the environmental assessment on the project, but said they felt they had little choice.

If the city was to produce its own “Local Coastal Program Amendment” on the Encinitas portion of regional freeway project, it would have only 90 days to do so under the state guidelines, city associate planner Mike Strong told the council. That’s not nearly enough time to conduct a full-scale environmental review and collect public comments, he said. He added that there’s no guarantee the state would accept the city’s document once it was done.

Council members agreed that 90 days wasn’t enough time, but said they didn’t like the decision they were about to make.

Most of the seven public speakers who addressed the council on the issue Wednesday also had objections. Former Encinitas mayor Sheila Cameron said she didn’t understand why the city was giving up its rights and Leucadia resident Lynn Marr said, “Regional oversight just isn’t the same.”

But Encinitas attorney Marco Gonzalez, who works for a legal firm representing several organizations that are suing the state over the freeway expansion plans, said the city was making the right move.

The city won’t have enough time to do a proper review, and the state’s Coastal Commission will be doing its own extensive assessment of the plans, he said.

Debated for the last decade, the proposed freeway expansion project is still in the planning stages. It would add four “express” lanes --- two northbound and two southbound --- between San Diego’s La Jolla Village Drive and Oceanside’s Harbor Drive. The controlled-access lanes would serve carpools, buses and other multi-passenger vehicles, but cars with only one occupant also could use the lanes, if their drivers pay a special fee.

While Encinitas won’t produce its own environmental document on the freeway plans, it will be providing comments that will be inserted into the state documents, council members said. In order to make certain the city has ample opportunity to participate in the state process, the freeway topic now will become a “standing item” on council agendas and city employees will be asked to provide regular project updates, council members decided Wednesday night.

Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer put forward that suggestion, saying it would allow the city to be fast and flexible in responding to project issues.

City planning department employees had asked the council to create a two-member, council subcommittee to discuss freeway expansion issues, but council members said they preferred to have the full council present for the discussions.